The Galleries is set to be demolished – but what does that mean for our festive market event?Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to the shopping quarter over the next few weeks (Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

‘Tis the season where the Christmas Market in Broadmead is opening and the countdown to Christmas is fully upon us. And while thousands will be venturing to the market this year to explore the stalls selling everything from artisan creations to food and drink, many are already looking ahead to what the future looks like for this festive event.

Why? Well, The Galleries is set to be demolished as part of a major redevelopment for the Broadmead area. The shopping centre will be replaced by some 450 new homes, new shops and restaurants, and will reportedly open up the area between Castle Park and Broadmead.

It’s set to be one of the biggest redevelopments Bristol has seen in recent years, changing the way the city centre and Broadmead looks and feels. Currently, Broadmead shoppers can make their way around the shops in Cabot Circus, Quakers Friars and The Horsefair, through Broadmead and Bristol’s Shopping Quarter and into The Galleries – but one by one, shops in the shopping centre, which opened in 1991, have closed and moved out in preparation for the building to be knocked down.

The Christmas Market this year, as it has done for many a year, sits along the main thoroughfare through the Shopping Quarter. Some 40 stalls run along the promenade of Broadmead shops, which also houses a 30ft Christmas tree, rides, bars and other attractions this year.

BristolLive put the question of what the Bristol Christmas Market could look like as Broadmead transforms, when The Galleries is knocked down (this is likely to be its last Christmas), and as the redevelopment works are carried out and finally completed.

‘A pivotal moment for the city centre’

A spokesperson for Bristol Christmas Market told BristolLive: “In terms of the future, and the plans for the demolition of The Galleries, we see this as a pivotal moment for the city centre. While we have benefited from being located between two major shopping centres – Cabot Circus and The Galleries – we also appreciate that city centres are evolving as people’s retail habits change and high streets adapt.

“At Bristol Christmas Market, we recognise the fond memories many hold of The Galleries, but we also welcome the redevelopment as a chance to revitalise the city centre. With new residential and leisure spaces set to complement Cabot Circus, we believe this transformation will draw more visitors across Broadmead and Castle Park – strengthening Bristol as a destination for shopping, celebration, and community.

“We are always looking to improve the market and will continue to keep a close eye on the changes to The Galleries site and the wider city centre. This will help us adapt and ensure the market remains relevant, vibrant, and beneficial both for visitors and for Bristol as a whole.”

In recent times the high street has seen some huge changes, some major closures, and some bleak scenes of emptiness due to a number of factors.

In previous years, stall holders at the market have, while seeing its regular buzz, commented on a dip in custom and visitors when BristolLive has asked them for their thoughts on the current climate, which they’ve put down to the dip in people visiting physical stores on the whole.

So the redevelopment may very well see an injection of new custom to not only the Christmas Markets to come, but also Broadmead in its entirety. New residents will no doubt be more likely to visit this market right on their doorstep, while any new local businesses to open up will surely want to get involved with the market itself, and if bigger brands open up in Bristol’s Shopping Quarter due to the redevelopment, then this could lead to more visitors here all throughout the year.

It could very well mean that the market expands further to rival others like the very popular neighbouring Bath Christmas Market, which draws in some 450,000 people each year over an 18-day period. And with that provides another means of tourism in which we get to show off Bristol’s local brands, businesses, communities, cultures, food and drink to the rest of the world.